Anonymous & other Hacker News

Hello people of the world, We are Anonymous.

Anonymous has released hundreds of emails after hacking into a mail server used by Syrian President Bashar al Assad's office.
Anonymous not only successfully breached into the network of Assad's office, but also managed to steal hundreds of emails including those disclosing details of the president's plans for his highly anticipated interview with ABC's Barbara Walters. The interview took place last December, during the period when Assad was coming under severe criticism for his harsh crackdown on street protesters. Assad's government was accused on multiple occasions of carrying out cold blooded massacres - a charge the president firmly denies.

During his interview with Walters, Assad stated, "no government in the world kills its people, unless it's led by a crazy person," as reported by CBS News.

The emails stolen and published by Anonymous reflects how days before the interview, Assad's advisers were discussing the possible questions Walters may ask.

Remember as always,
We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We Do Not Forgive.
We Do Not Forget.
United as One.
Divided by Zero.
The Voice of Anons.
To the world as always...
Expect Us!

ΠΟΛΙΤΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ
ΕΧΕΤΕ ΕΠΙΛΕΧΘΕΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΕΣ
ΠΟΛΥΕΘΝΙΚΕΣ ΕΛΙΤ
ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΕΤΕ ΤΟ ΠΕΙΡΑΜΑΤΟΖΩΟ
ΤΗΣ ΕΥΡΩΠΗΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΣΧΕΔΙΟ ΤΟΥΣ

ΠΟΥ ΑΦΟΡΑ ΤΗΝ ΚΛΟΠΗ ΤΗΣ ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ
ΣΑΣ ΑΝΕΞΑΡΤΗΣΙΑΣ
ΦΟΡΤΩΝΩΝΤΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΧΩΡΑ ΣΑΣ
ΜΕ ΧΡΕΟΣ ΠΟΥ ΔΕΝ ΜΠΟΡΕΙ ΝΑ ΞΕΧΡΕΩΘΕΙ.
ΣΤΟΧΟΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΟΙ ΠΛΟΥΤΟΠΑΡΑΓΩΓΙΚΕΣ
ΣΑΣ ΠΗΓΕΣ (ΠΕΤΡΕΛΑΙΑ-ΦΥΣ.ΑΕΡΙΟ).

ΠΡΕΠΕΙ ΝΑ ΑΝΤΙΣΤΑΘΕΙΤΕ!

Η ΒΟΗΘΕΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΔΟΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΩΝ ΣΑΣ
ΗΤΑΝ ΠΟΛΥΤΙΜΗ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΘΟΡΙΣΤΙΚΗ.
ΥΠΕΚΥΠΤΑΝ ΕΝΑΣ ΕΝΑΣ
ΤΑ ΨΕΜΑΤΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΕΞΟΡΓΙΣΤΙΚΑ

ΠΟΛΙΤΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ,
ΠΕΙΤΕ ΟΧΙ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΤΡΟΜΟΚΡΑΤΕΣ
ΤΗΕ Ε.Ε. ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ Δ.Ν.Τ
ΘΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΔΥΣΚΟΛΟ, ΑΛΛΑ Η
ΕΝΑΛΛΑΚΤΙΚΗ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΝΑ
ΓΙΝΕΤΕ ΜΟΝΙΜΟΙ
ΣΚΛΑΒOI ΤΩΝ ΧΡΕΩΝ
ΟΛΟΣ Ο ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΕΣΤΙΑΖΕΙ ΠΑΝΩ ΣΑΣ
ΕΙΣΑΣΤΕ Η ΠΡΩΤΗ ΓΡΑΜΜΗ ΑΜΥΝΑΣ
ΔΕΝ ΠΡΕΠΕΙ ΝΑ ΑΠΟΤΥΧΕΤΕ

ΕΙΜΑΣΤΕ ΜΑΖΙ ΣΑΣ

WE ARE ANONYMOUS
WE ARE LEGION
WE DO NOT FORGIVE
WE DO NOT FORGET
GREEK GOVERNMENT EXPECT US!

το transcript

Greetings NSA,
We are Anonymous.

Your statement regarding the potential future sabotage of power grids by Anonymous, disgusts us to the core, as it is clearly an attempt at fear mongering. The idea that Anonymous would shut down one of the most vital resources for it to operate, is ludicrous.

While security and intelligence organizations throughout the world attempt to depict Anonymous as a 'terrorist organization', many people understand that this same subset of Anonymous they speak of, is actually a movement for freedom. This appears to scare government organizations, to the point where they might do anything in an attempt to discredit Anonymous, and make people believe Anonymous exists solely to harm innocent people.

Are these claims and predictions an attempt to falsely accuse Anonymous of something that will happen in the future - maybe even being orchestrated by the same government organizations that are now already blaming Anonymous? Many people have warned about the sad state of the power grid infrastructure in the past, but why would we shut down our own computers and other communication tools?

Thousands of people rely on electricity for everything they do; hospitals even need this electricity to save lives, and taking out the power grid would cause harm to the very people we wish to protect.

There is no valid reason for us to shut down the power grid, as far as we are aware. Any such predictions by the various government, security, and intelligence organizations are likely attempts to instill fear into those that don't understand this, and to discredit Anonymous as a whole.

We are Anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
For once don't expect us.

TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Emergency Reality Network.

Please stand by for a public service announcement.
Please be advised that you have been advised.
Tomorrow has been canceled due to the lack of interest.
Thank you for your participation in humanity.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
This is a recording.

Connection Established:
Begin Protocol:

...

Greetings fellow citizens of the Super cedence.

This is a message for all those that have taken a solemn oath and or vow in service of their country.

For this we salute you.
We commend your courage and commitment to serve a cause greater than yourselves.
There is no greater Honor than to be in service for what you may believe in.

Therefore, it is Our sad duty to clarify some oaths that are of grave concern.

For those men and women, who have taken or about to take this oath:

and I quote:
to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same:
End quote:

Please consider the following.

These are times of great peril.
The entire planet is on the verge of a great precipice from which we may not return.
With that oath, comes a great responsibility.
We are calling upon your sense of duty and justice to implore, beg and demand that you, as an autonomous being, establish the truth of your own understanding.
Heed Our words, the constitution is under immediate and direct threat from agents both foreign and domestic.
To be clear, it is your duty to identify and recognize this threat.
To be clear, it is your duty to develop strategies and employ necessary tactics to prevent this enemy from advancing.

Now, we could tell you that the government is at fault, or the bankers, or right wing extremists.
However, Intel is still being collected.
Certain facts are obvious. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs, their homes & their hope.
At some point in the not so distant future, everyone will be given a choice. Everyone will choose the level of their own participation.

Either you can be part of the problem or part of the solution.

To this end, we offer this pledge:

I pledge allegiance to dismantle:
The united state of the Corporations:
And to the profits for which they stand:
One nation, In dispute, end tyranny and torture on all:
...
Of this, We So Declare:

The time has come to Wage Peace.

We are not afraid.
We are not alone.
We are everywhere.
We are the future.
We are the 99 percent.

We are anonymous.
We are legion.
We will not forgive.
We will not forget.

Expect. us.

End Protocol:
Connection terminated:

To the Citizens of the United States and the United States Government.
We are Anonymous.

In the past few months, our collective has been organizing the operation known as Operation Blackout. Part of the operation's purpose was to alert the people of the coming bill that was to be called the Stop Online Piracy Act.

This Act would give Congress the power to censor any internet website they wish without consent from the Citizens of the United States. This act would've also had the power to jail any person who infringed on its new copyright law for an equivalence of five years. This copyright law would've had the power to destroy social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Video gameplay and free movies would cease to exist.

However, Operation Blackout was a success. As a collective, we've managed to spread the word and alert the masses. Internet giants such as Google, Wikipedia, and Reddit became hand-in-hand with us as we all managed to make an impact on the decisions of our, "free government". But as we've seen with Megaupload, the government may not need a bill to be passed to get their way. Other operations we've conducted over this time period have awaken the people to the nightmare that is the United States Government. Sections 1031 and 1032 of the National Defense Authorization Act have been ratified. Yet we face new threats.

The United States Government is seeking to pass the Cyber Security Act of 2012. This act is as Orwellian as it sounds; it will endanger our collective and we will not stand by and watch while this government of lies prepares to take away our freedoms. The National Security Agency insists on labeling us as a leaderless, terrorist organization. The question is, "who do we terrorize?". Can it possibly be that the United States government is truly scared of us? Nevertheless, The time for action is now.

Our collective has realized, along with many United States citizens, that the current government is no longer functional. Our economy is unstable, our representatives uncooperative, and our system, destroyed.

We are not calling upon the collective to deface or use a distributed denial of service attack on a United States government agency website or affiliate. We are not calling upon the people to occupy a city or protest in front of a local building. This has not brought on us any legislative change or alternate law. It has only brought us bloodshed and false criticism. For the last 12 years, voting was useless. Corporations and lobbyists are the true leaders of this country and are the ones with the power to control our lives. To rebuild our government, we must first destroy it.

Our time for democracy is here.
Our time for real change is here.
This is America's time, to have its own revolution.

Therefore, Anonymous has decided to openly declare war on the United States government. This is a call to arms. We call upon the Citizens of the United States to stand beside us in overthrowing this corrupted body and call upon a new era. Our allegiance is to the American people, because they are us, and we are them.

Operation V, engaged.

We are Anonymous.
We are Americans.
We never Forgive.
We never Forget.
To the United States government, it's too late to expect us.

Today WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails date from between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods, for example:

"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.

The material contains privileged information about the US government's attacks against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and Stratfor's own attempts to subvert WikiLeaks. There are more than 4,000 emails mentioning WikiLeaks or Julian Assange. The emails also expose the revolving door that operates in private intelligence companies in the United States. Government and diplomatic sources from around the world give Stratfor advance knowledge of global politics and events in exchange for money. The Global Intelligence Files exposes how Stratfor has recruited a global network of informants who are paid via Swiss banks accounts and pre-paid credit cards. Stratfor has a mix of covert and overt informants, which includes government employees, embassy staff and journalists around the world.

The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients. For example, Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of Bhopal activists, including the "Yes Men", for the US chemical giant Dow Chemical. The activists seek redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India. The disaster led to thousands of deaths, injuries in more than half a million people, and lasting environmental damage.

Stratfor has realised that its routine use of secret cash bribes to get information from insiders is risky. In August 2011, Stratfor CEO George Friedman confidentially told his employees: "We are retaining a law firm to create a policy for Stratfor on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I don't plan to do the perp walk and I don't want anyone here doing it either."

Stratfor's use of insiders for intelligence soon turned into a money-making scheme of questionable legality. The emails show that in 2009 then-Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz and Stratfor CEO George Friedman hatched an idea to "utilise the intelligence" it was pulling in from its insider network to start up a captive strategic investment fund. CEO George Friedman explained in a confidential August 2011 document, marked DO NOT SHARE OR DISCUSS: "What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor's intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments, particularly government bonds, currencies and the like". The emails show that in 2011 Goldman Sach's Morenz invested "substantially" more than $4million and joined Stratfor's board of directors. Throughout 2011, a complex offshore share structure extending as far as South Africa was erected, designed to make StratCap appear to be legally independent. But, confidentially, Friedman told StratFor staff: "Do not think of StratCap as an outside organisation. It will be integral... It will be useful to you if, for the sake of convenience, you think of it as another aspect of Stratfor and Shea as another executive in Stratfor... we are already working on mock portfolios and trades". StratCap is due to launch in 2012.

The Stratfor emails reveal a company that cultivates close ties with US government agencies and employs former US government staff. It is preparing the 3-year Forecast for the Commandant of the US Marine Corps, and it trains US marines and "other government intelligence agencies" in "becoming government Stratfors". Stratfor's Vice-President for Intelligence, Fred Burton, was formerly a special agent with the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and was their Deputy Chief of the counterterrorism division. Despite the governmental ties, Stratfor and similar companies operate in complete secrecy with no political oversight or accountability. Stratfor claims that it operates "without ideology, agenda or national bias", yet the emails reveal private intelligence staff who align themselves closely with US government policies and channel tips to the Mossad – including through an information mule in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Yossi Melman, who conspired with Guardian journalist David Leigh to secretly, and in violation of WikiLeaks' contract with the Guardian, move WikiLeaks US diplomatic cables to Israel.

Ironically, considering the present circumstances, Stratfor was trying to get into what it called the leak-focused "gravy train" that sprung up after WikiLeaks’ Afghanistan disclosures:

"[Is it] possible for us to get some of that 'leak-focused' gravy train? This is an obvious fear sale, so that's a good thing. And we have something to offer that the IT security companies don't, mainly our focus on counter-intelligence and surveillance that Fred and Stick know better than anyone on the planet... Could we develop some ideas and procedures on the idea of ´leak-focused' network security that focuses on preventing one's own employees from leaking sensitive information... In fact, I'm not so sure this is an IT problem that requires an IT solution."

Like WikiLeaks’ diplomatic cables, much of the significance of the emails will be revealed over the coming weeks, as our coalition and the public search through them and discover connections. Readers will find that whereas large numbers of Stratfor's subscribers and clients work in the US military and intelligence agencies, Stratfor gave a complimentary membership to the controversial Pakistan general Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, who, according to US diplomatic cables, planned an IED attack on international forces in Afghanistan in 2006. Readers will discover Stratfor's internal email classification system that codes correspondence according to categories such as 'alpha', 'tactical' and 'secure'. The correspondence also contains code names for people of particular interest such as 'Izzies' (members of Hezbollah), or 'Adogg' (Mahmoud Ahmedinejad).

Stratfor did secret deals with dozens of media organisations and journalists – from Reuters to the Kiev Post. The list of Stratfor’s "Confederation Partners", whom Stratfor internally referred to as its "Confed Fuck House" are included in the release. While it is acceptable for journalists to swap information or be paid by other media organisations, because Stratfor is a private intelligence organisation that services governments and private clients these relationships are corrupt or corrupting.

WikiLeaks has also obtained Stratfor's list of informants and, in many cases, records of its payoffs, including $1,200 a month paid to the informant "Geronimo" , handled by Stratfor's Former State Department agent Fred Burton.

WikiLeaks has built an investigative partnership with more than 25 media organisations and activists to inform the public about this huge body of documents. The organisations were provided access to a sophisticated investigative database developed by WikiLeaks and together with WikiLeaks are conducting journalistic evaluations of these emails. Important revelations discovered using this system will appear in the media in the coming weeks, together with the gradual release of the source documents.